Q2 Marketing Blog» Q2 Marketing Blog – Technology Marketing, Public Relations, Brand Consulting

How Important is a Web Site Audit

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:32:46 +0000

Regular web site audits can be extremely valuable to a successful, ongoing internet marketing strategy. So what exactly is a site audit and how do you know if you need one?

Find out here: http://seo-software-review.toptenreviews.com/how-important-is-a-site-audit-.html.

Content is Key to Effective Online Marketing

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:17:27 +0000

There are many challenges businesses of all sizes face when it comes to developing and executing a powerful, ROI-driven internet marketing strategy. One of the biggest hurdles is in developing high-quality, meaningful content. Many businesses simply don’t think they have much to say or a reliable effective way to say it.

Read the rest at TopTenREVIEWS.com Online Marketing Services site.

Talkin’ About My (online) Reputation

Pamela Girardin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:40:34 +0000

Amtrak’s Arrive Magazine’s most recent issue quotes Q2 Marketing’s Becky Sheetz-Runkle on how to protect your businesses’ online reputation. Find out how to use social media to shape your online reputation. Read the full article: http://www.arrive-digital.com/arrive/20100708#pg31

New eMarketer report on SEO and SEM Spending

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:34:32 +0000

Search is fundamental to customer acquisition. And search engine optimization (SEO) is projected to grow consistently, according to eMarketer’s Search Marketing Trends report.

Read the rest at blogs.aquent.com: http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/author/kelly-boykin/2009/06/

Search Engine Submission Pitfalls

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:38:44 +0000

Search engine submission is a tricky topic. Whether or not an SEO software product offers search engine submission doesn’t tell the entire story. Their submission practices must also be evaluated.

Not all SEO submission tools are created equally.

An SEO product that includes solid submission features will save you significant time and money. The best products allow you to submit an unlimited number of pages to search engines and directories. And the top products do it with credible, white hat SEO methods that are approved by search engines. This way they safeguard your website’s credibility and drive the kind of traffic you want.

Read more about safe search engine submission practices.

Find the top 10 SEO software companies.

All About Online Video (VSEO)

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:19:21 +0000

Online video is all the rage these days. From YouTube and Facebook to news and business websites, everybody’s doing it.

But what everyone’s not doing is optimizing their own video for SEO. Video SEO— or, VSEO—is a collection of practices that guides the creation, optimization and distribution of videos for the purpose of driving traffic and gaining exposure. And these practices, like all of SEO, are a moving target requiring up-to-the-minute expertise.

The Top 10 SEO Software Products in the World!

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:09:30 +0000

Search engine optimization. Can you really market effectively without it? Probably not. But SEO is about much more than keyword optimization and whose linking back to who. It’s about strategy, content, credibility and great attention to detail.

That’s why a lot of pros don’t go it alone. They pick an SEO software product to help automate the many tedious and time consuming aspects of SEO. The rules and techniques are constantly changing.

To help, I’ve impartially evaluted and compared the top 10 SEO software products in the world. And I do mean world. Only one is based in the U.S.

The top three were:

Web CEO
Advanced Web Ranking
iBusiness Promoter

Find out why they finished at the top and learn about the other seven, price points and more at my TopTenREVIEWS SEO product comparison site.

Enjoy!

SEO, PPC, Social Media & More–Find the Top Online Marketing Firms

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:36:35 +0000

Here is a TopTenREVIEWS review of the top internet marketing companies. Various service areas are evaluated, including search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC), link building, social media optimization and more.

Read the online marketing services firms review.

5 steps to successful and measurable white paper marketing

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:12:03 +0000

In technology marketing, the virtues of white papers are well known. But the deployment strategy too often goes off course. When this falls short, measurable results are sure to follow.

A successful white paper distribution strategy really only requires five steps:

1. A marketable topic that provides important content to potential buyers.

Just because your engineers are excited about a technology doesn’t mean this topic will generate enthusiastic readers. Research your topic and make sure you’re really filling a market niche and supplying needed content. If this step is not dead on, how can the program be successful?

2. Structure and content that delivers on the promise of valuable information.

This step can do one of two things. It can build on the credibility of the company that develops the white paper. Or it can damage your company’s credibility if the reader goes to the trouble to download your data, only to find the information is poorly organized, badly written, and/or hopefully week on good content. There’s a middle ground in there too, but that falls short of motivating the prospect to do business with you.

3. Visual appeal that contributes to the positive perception the reader has of the company.

White papers are marketing pieces and should fit with the overall corporate brand. Charts, graphs, screen captures and other visual depictions should be handled by an experienced graphic designer, as should all parts of the white paper. Not everyone who can design a white paper should design a white paper. After all, you want this document to be read by your audience. Visuals are important.

4. A distribution strategy of reaching potential buyers, customers, etc.

Writing the white paper is the easy part. Really. As difficult as it can be to extract important information out of your subject matter experts and convince your C-suite and peers that you’re not giving away trade secrets at every turn, the most difficult part of any white paper strategy is distribution. Take the time and allocate the budget to do this step properly. Before you embark on developing the white papers, research white paper search and syndication services like bnet, techtarget, knowledgestorm and more, as well as more niche-focused services. Also consider the white paper as a pull to an advertising or direct mail campaign.

Also, determine how you will continue to nurture those leads once they are in your pipeline.

5. Benchmarking and measurement methods to determine and define success.

Before you begin, determine what success looks like. Realistically. Is it the number of qualified downloads, qualified additions to your marketing database, inbound leads, search engine optimization, synergy with a PR program, etc.?

Q2 Marketing Cited in Slideshare’s Content Marketing Predictions for 2009

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:22:08 +0000

Slideshare’s Content Marketing, Social Media and Marketing Predictions for 2009 cites research commentary from Q2 Marketing. Find the presentation, full of great resources, here:

http://www.slideshare.net/ambal/clickdocuments-content-marketing-cheat-sheet